In the effort to produce compact power plants of high efficiency suitable for use in automotive vehicles, and which have low pollution factors, attention has been given to compound Brayton-Rankine cycle engines, although in the past these have been primarily constructed in a manner which, because of the size and weight of the components, has confined the use of such compound cycle engines to stationary power plants and the like. In the copending application of Ernest R. Earnest, Ser. No. 439,149, filed Feb. 4, 1974, now abandoned an engine of the indicated class is disclosed utilizing single stage Brayton and Rankine turbines, and a single stage compressor for the Brayton turbine driven by the Rankine turbine and mechanically independent of the Brayton turbine, the Rankine system being charged with an organic working fluid having physical characteristic selected to maximize the efficienty of the Rankie turbine, and of the compressor for the Brayton turbine, when these two components are running at the same predetermined speed. The present invention has as its overall object to improve power plants of the indicated character with respect to compactness and cost, and to provide an improved arrangement for handling the Rankine fluid which effectively seals the fluid within the system. A related object is to provide such an engine having overall dimensions which are relatively uniform in all three planes so that it can be accommodated in a space which is substantially cubic.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon consideration of the present disclosure in its entirety.